Automatic filling nozzle



' Marel.l 2,1937. H. K. 'FLINCHBAUGH' V 2,072,202 I i AUTOMATIC FILLING NQZZLE Filed March ze, 1955 2 sheets-sheet i MarchZ, 1937. lil. K. rf'LlNcl-IBAUGH 72,072,202

AUTOMATIC FILLING NOZZLE FiledvMar-ch 28, 1935- 2 Sheetsf-Sheet 2 llrllllllllg w. '11111111' luvllrn'I/lll Patented` Mar. 2, 1937 UNITEDI STATES aovazoz Alin'rEN'r oFFicE AUTOMATIC FILLING NOZZLE Henry K. Flinchbaugh, West. Manchester Township, York County, Pa., assigner ol' one-half to Alonzo E. Smith, Springettsbury Township, York County, Pennsylvania Application March 28, 1935, Serial-No. 13,551

' 6 claims. (ol. 22o-127) understood that it may be applied to a conduitv of any type through which liquid is delivered into a container which it is desired to ll without danger of the liquid overflowing from the container.

At the present time nozzles'which are intended to automatically shut oi when a container is filled have been made but they have been found to be unsatisfactory. In certain of these nozzles the mechanism for closing the valve of the nozzle l5 is actuated by a float which is` moved in an operative direction by liquid in the container and this has been found impractical. This is due to the fact that the inlet tube which extends from the filling neck ofthe gasoline storage tank of some automobiles is now formed with bailles and with curved portions in order to prevent a Siphon tube from being used so as to illegally remove gasoline from the tank and the nozzle cannot be thrust into the neck and filling tube a sufcient distance to cause the float to4 be operated and prevent overiiowing of the gasoline.

Therefore, one object of the invention is to provide a nozzle having a spring actuated valve moved to an opened position against the action of its spring and in connection with the nozzle provide means for releasing the valve which is controlled byinterruption of ilow of air eiected when the discharge end of the nozzle is closed by gasoline filling the tank.

Another object of the invention is to provide a valve which may be opened in the usual manner through the medium of an actuating lever and permit the valve to be released for movement to a closed position when thetank is lled even 40 when the actuating lever is very rmly held in position to open the valve.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the means for releasing the valve that it will be normally in position to permit opening of the valve, thus making it unnecessary to manually adjust elements of the nozzle after the valve has been automatically closed in order to permit the valve to be again opened.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nozzle having means associated therewith for automatically closing a valve without appreciably changing dimensions of the nozzle. Therefore,` the improved nozzle may be used for delivering gasoline into storage tanks having filling necks of a conventional construction.

`in order to open the valve.

The linvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a section taken longitudinally through a nozzle of the improved construction, the valve being shown open in full lines and its 5 closed position being indicated by dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l showing `the valve closed after being automatically re- Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken 10 longitudinally through the spout of the nozzle along the line 3-3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 is a section taken transversely through the spout along the line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a section taken transversely w through the nozzle along the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

-Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the lower portion of the standard to Which the actuating le'ver is pivoted and the device which 20 normally holds the standard against movement out of a vertical position.

This improved nozzle has been shown coupled to a hose I through which gasoline is to pass from a dispenser of a conventional construction. 25 The nozzle has a valve body 2 formed with an inlet arm 3 into which a. coupling 4 of the hose 1 I isthreaded. The valve body is also formed with a discharge arm or neck E into which theV rear or inner end of a tubular spout 6 is 30 threaded. A valve seat 1 is interposed between the arms or necks 3 and 5 and in order to control W of liquid through the nozzle, there has been provided a valve disc 8 carried by a stem 9 having one end portion slidably received in a well or 35 ,socket Il) and its other end portion slidably engaged through a `dome or cap Il which is threaded into the valve body. A packing gland I2 prevents leakage through the dome Il about the valve stem and a coiled spring I3 serves to yieldably hold the valve disc in the closed position shown in full lines in Figure 2 and by dotted lines in Figure 1. 'I'here has also been provided a lever I4 engaged about ,the valve'stem'under the abutment nuts I5 which isv normally in the 45 position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1 when the valve is closed but may be swung to the position shown in full vlines in this gure A handle or guard I6 extends upwardly from the rear end'of the 50 arm or neck 3 and then forwardly over the valve body with its front end. extending downwardly over the rear or inner end portion of the spout 6, and side plates or shields Il are detachably the valve in order to prevent damage to the valve stem, lever and other elements which are disposed externally of the valve body. 'I'he free end portion of the lever is shielded by the por- 5 tion of the handle rising from the rear end of the neck 3 and from an inspection of Figure i it w'll be readily seen that by grasping the lever and the overlying portion of the handle, pressure may be applied to open the valve.

In nozzles of a conventional construction, the actuating lever is pivoted to a xed fulcrum but in this device there has been provided a break joint fulcrum consisting of a rocker bar I8 which is pivoted intermediate its length to a bracket I9 carried by the forward portion of the handle I6 and adjacent its upper end is pivoted to a link by a pin 2|. At its upper end the link 20 extends between forks 22 of the lever |4 where it is pivotally mounted by a'pin 23, and by referring to Figure 5 it will be seen that the rocker arm I8 consists of spaced side bars 24 between which the free end of the bracket I9 extends, upper ends of the side bars being connected by a bridge 25 which extends across the link 28 and limits piv.

25 otal movement of the link and rocker arm or bar relative to each other in one direction. The

pin 2| projects from one side of the rocker barand is engaged by one end of a spring 26 which has its other end anchored to a pin 21 projecting fromaI side of the bracket I9 .and exerts pull upon the upper end of the rocker bar to yieldably hold the break joint fulcrum in the position shown in Figure 1.

In order to normally hold the break joint fulcrum in the position shown in Figure 1, there has been provided a latch 28 which is slidably mounted in a socket 29 formed longitudinally of the neck 5 and at its outer end having a head 38 projecting upwardly into position for engagement by the tooth 3| of a pivoted keeper 32 which is' pivotally mounted between lower ends of the side bars 24 by a pin 33 and is yieldably held in the depressed position shown in Figure 6 by1 a spring 34. The spring has its bridge portion extending across the tooth 3| and its arms extending rearwardly at opposite sides of the rocker bar. After passing beneath extended ends of the pin 33, the arms of the spring are bent upwardly to engage over ends of a pin 35 which not only causes the spring to have the desired tension but also constitutes an abutment for engagement by the'nger 38 forming the upper endportion of the keeper 32. The pawl or keeper, which may 'be referred to as a pivoted foot, will, therefore, be normally held in the position shown in Figure 6, but when the rocker bar is swung from the position shown in Figure 2 toward thatof Figure 1, the foot may turn about the pin 33 and thus move upwardly a sufiicient distance to permit the rocker u arm tofassume the substantially vertical position, at which time the finger 3| will engage back of the" head 38 of the latch and the break joint fulcrum will be retained in the upright position. The pull of the spring 26 holds the break joint fulcrum in the upright position and when the lever I4 is gripped and swung upwardly from the position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1 toy ward the position shown in full lines therein, the valve will be opened and gasoline Vallowed to iiow through the spout 6.

Between the diagonally extending forward end portion 6' of the spout andthe rear end thereof, the spout has been crimped transversely and carries a shield or plate 31 which is brazed or otherwise secured along its side edges to the spout and at' its rear end4 is formed with a depending flange 38 and an upwardly extending tongue 39. The flange 38 is brazed to the spout and the tongue 39 is secured to the forward end of the handle I6 by a bolt/40. It will thus be seen that the spout may be screwed tightly into the neck 5and the bolt 40 then applied through the handle and tongue to firmly secure the spout. The shield or plate is spaced from the upper portion of the spout and together therewith defines a passage orchamber 4| through which extends a rod 42, the rear end of which passes through a small opening formed in the flange 38 and is threaded into a socket 43 formed in the forward end of the latch 28. A spring 44, which surrounds the rod between the flange 38 and an abutment 45 carried by the rod, urges the rod rearwardly and, therefore, the rod will be normally held in its rearward position with the head of the latch engaging the finger 3| of the foot and preventing the break joint fulcrum from moving out of the `upright position shown in Figure 1 to the collapsed position shown in Figure 2.

The plate 48 which serves as a cover for the forward portion of the chamber 4| is detachably secured by screws 41 and within this forward portion 4|' of the chamber is mounted mechanism for controlling movement of the rod 42. This is shown in Figure 3, and referring to this figure it will be seen that the forward end of the rod 42 is pivoted to a short lever 48 which extends transversely of the chamber and at one end is pivotally mounted by a pin .49. The other end of the lever ,'48 is pivoted to a link 58 which is pivotally carried by a lever 5| fulcrumed about a pin 52 and a spring 53 which is anchored to a pin 54 and engaged through an opening 55 formed in thev link 58 yieldably holds the link and the lever 5| in alinement with each other longitudinally of the spout with the rear end portion lof the lever 5| bearing against an abutment pin 56. A rocker arm 51 which is pivoted intermediate its length about a pin 58 normally extends longitudinally in the chamber 4|' with its rear end bearing against a side of the forward end of the lever 5| and the forward end of the rocker arm engages a lug 59 projecting transversely from the head or pivoted end portion 68 of a trigger 6|. This trigger extends transversely of the chamber 4|' adjacent the open forward end thereof and is pivotally mounted about a pin 62 which passes through the head 68. A spring 63 yieldably holds the trigger in the position shown in Figure 3 and a guide plate 64l serving as a stop for the trigger 6| is provided in the open end portion or mouth of the chamber so that air and liquid entering the' chamber will be directed toward'the free end portion of the trigger. Normally, the trigger will be held in the position shown in Figure 3 by the spring 63 and air may pass through the chamber and enter the spout through the opening 65. An injector nipple 66 and a Venturi tube 61 are mounted in the spout 6 with the opening 65 betweentheir adjoining ends and it will be readily understood that when liquid is passing through the nipple and the Venturi tube a suction through the opening 65 will be created to draw air rearwardly through the chamber 4 I.

When this nozzle is in use it is applied to the position shown in Figure 1 to the full line position in which the valve stem I3 will be drawn upon to move the valve disc off ofthe seat 1 and A5 allow the liquid to flow through the spout and into the tank. The suction created by the liquid passing through the nipple 66 and Venturi tube 61 will create a suction through the opening 65 and air will be drawn rearwardly through the chamber 4I. The liquid will flow freely through the spout as long as the forward end thereof which is thrust into the filling neck of the storage tank is above the level of liquid in the storage tank. When` theliquid in the storage tank reaches such a height that the, forward end of the spout will be immersed, flow of air through the passage 4I will be cut off and immediately liquid will be sucked into the auxiliary passage and the force exerted by the liquid and the suction will cause the trigger 6I to be moved inwardly against the action of the spring 63. As the trigger swings about its pivot 62,-the lug 59 willengage the forward end of the rocker arm 51 to swing this arm transversely until its vrear end portion engages the abutment pin 68 which limits its movement in this direction and as the rocker arm swings about its pivot, its-rear end portion will cause the lever 5I to swing about its pivot 52 away from the abutment pin 56 andexert pull upon the link 50 to move the link in opposition to pull of the spring 53. As the lever 5I' and link 50 move out of a dead center in which they are longitudinally alined withn each other, they will cease to serve as a brace for the leverl 48 and this lever and the, rod 42 may ,35 then move forwardly. Pressure exerted by the spring I3 is constantly urging the valve 8 toward 'a closed position and as the lever 5I and link 50 move to releasethe lever 48, pressurek exerted by the spring -I3 willoause the break joint lfulcrum oto collapse and its lower end move forwardly.`

flhe latch 28 and rod 42 are thusmoved forwardly va sucient distance to release the lower end of Nthe fulcrum and the valve will be free to fully close. It will thus Vbe seen that flow of liquid through the nozzle will be immediately cut off and there will be no danger of the gasoline overflowing from the storage tank of the" automobile and spoiling the paintand creating a fire hazard.

When flow of liquid is cut off, the lever I4 may be released and pull exerted by the spring 26 will return\the break joint fulcrum to the upright position inwhich.its pivoted foot will move back of the lhead 39 of the latch, it being understood that in the meantime, suction through the chamber 4-I will have ceased, and the springs 44, 53 and 63 returned the latch and its rod 42 and the elements in the forward portion 4I' of the chamber to their normal positions. The valve will then remain closed until gripping pressure is again applied to the lever I4.

Having thusl described theinvention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A nozzle comprising a valve housing having ya discharge spout extending therefrom, a valve 65 for controlling flow of liquid through the nozzle yieldably heldin a closed position, a chamber extending longitudinally of the discharge spout, a break joint fulcrum, a lever for moving the valve 'to an opened position pivoted to the break joint fulcrum, resilient means yieldably holding the break joint fulcrum in an extended position, a latch movable int and out of position to hold the break joint fulcrum in its extended position having a rodextending into said chamber, means yfor creating a suction rearwardly through the chamber while liquid is iiowing through'the discharge spout, and means in said chamber for moving the rod and latch to a fulcrum releasing position including a control element movable in an operative direction by suctiony through the chamber when the open forward end of the chamberis closed.

2. A filling nozzle comprising a valve housing. a discharge spout extending from the valve housing and formed with a liquid passage and with a 'longitudinally extending chamber open at its front end and adjacent its rear end communicating with the liquid passage, means for causing suction to be exerted rearwardly1 through said chamber when liquid is flowing through the liquid passage, a valve for controlling flow of liquid through the valve housing yieldably -held in a closed position and having a stem projecting from the valve housing, a break joint fulcrum in front of the valve. housing, a lever pivoted to the break joint fulcrum and engaging the valve stem for moving the valve to an opened position when pressure is applied 4to the lever in one direction, a latch movable into and out of position to engage the break joint fulcrum and hold the break joint fulcrum in an extended position, a rod extending from said latch into said chamber and slidable longitudinally therein, and means for controlling movement of said rod and normally retaining the latch in position to secure the break joint fulcrum extended including an actuating element movable in a direction to effect release of the break joint fulcrum by suction exerted rearwardly through the chamber when the open forward end of the chamber is closed.

3. .A nozzle comprising a valve'body having an inlet and an outlet, a discharge spout extending from the outlet, a valve in said body yieldably held closed, a break joint fulcrum pivotally mounted externally of the valve body, a Alever pivoted to the break `joint fulcrum and connected with the valve, a latch for engaging thc break joint fulcrum and securing the fulcrum in an extended position, and suction actuated means for moving the latch into position to release the break joint fulcrum and permitting collapsingthereof and automatic closing of the valve.

4. A nozzle comprising a valve body, a disl charge spout extending forwardly from thevalve .body and formed with a liquid passage and with an auxiliary'passage extending longitudinally of the spout, the auxiliary passage being open at the forward end of the spout and adjacent its rear end communicating with the liquid passage, means in the liquid passage for causing air to be 'drawn rearwardly through the auxiliary passage as liquid ilows through the liquid passage, a handle bridging the nozzle longitudinally thereof, a bracket carried by the handle in front of the nozzle, a break joint fulcrum pivoted to sa'id bracket, a spring yieldably holding the break joint fulcrum extended, 'a valve in said nozzle yieldably held closed and having a stem projecting upwardly from the nozzle, a lever pivoted to the break jointfulcrum and engaging the valve stem, a latch movably mounted at the front of the nozzle andv adapted to engage the break joint fulcrum and hold it in an extended position, an actuating rod for said latch extending into the auxiliary chamber and yieldably hel .against forward movement, a lever pivoted in `he auxiliary chamber and engaged by the forward end of said rod, a link pivoted to the last-mentioned lever, another lever pivoted in the auxiliary chamber and extending longitudinally therein with its rear end pivoted to said link, a spring yieldably resisting movement of the link and last- Inentioned lever out of their normal positions, a rocker bar pivoted in the auxiliary chamber and extending longitudinally thereof with its rear end overlapping the forward end of the last-mentioned lever at one side thereof, and a trigger pivtioned lever about its pivot and permitting the latch to move forwardly out of engagement with the break joint fulcrum and allow collapsing of the break joint fulcrum and closing of the valve.

5. A nozzle comprising a valve body, a spout extending forwardly therefrom and formed with a liquid passage and an auxiliary passage open at its front end and adjacent its rear end communicating with the liquid passage, means for creating suction rearwardly through the auxiliary passage when liquid is flowing forwardly through the liquid passage, a valve in said nozzle yieldably held closed, a handle carried by said nozzle, a break joint fulcrum. consisting of a rocker arm pivoted to the handle and a link pivoted to the upper end of the rocker arm, means being provided for. limiting rearward pivotal movement of the link relative to the rocker arm, a spring yieldably holding the break joint fulcrum in an extended position, a valve for said nozzle, an actuating dever for said valve .pivoted to the upper end of said link, a foot pivoted to the lower end of the rocker arm and yieldably held in a normal position, a latch for engaging said foot and retaining the break joint fulcrum in an extended position, said latch being movable forwardly to release the fulcrumand having a stem extending longitudinally in the auxiliary passage of the spout and slidable longitudinally therein, means for yieldably resisting forward movement of the rod and latch, and means for effecting forward movement of the rod and latch to release the fulcrum including a trigger pivotally mounted in the auxiliary passage and extending transversely thereof and movable inwardly by suction in the auxiliary passage when the forward end of the auxiliary passage is blocked to permit forward shifting of the rod.

6. A nozzle having an inlet adapted for connection with a source of liquid supply and an outlet, a spout leading from the outlet and including an auxiliary passage, means for exerting suction rearwardly through the auxiliary passage when liquid is flowing through the spout, a handle bridging the nozzle longitudinally thereof a valve in said nozzle yieldably held closed and having a stem extending outwardly from the nozzle, a break joint fulcrum pivoted to the handle in front of the nozzle and having a pivoted foot at its lower end yieldably held in a normal position, resilient means yieldably holding the break joint fulcrum extended, an actuating lever pivoted to the upper end of the break joint fulcrum and engaging the valve stem for moving the valve to an opened position when the lever is grasped and pressure exerted thereon, a latch for engaging the pivoted foot and holding the break joint fulcrum extended, said latch being slidable longitudinally of the spout and having a rod extending into the auxiliary passage and slidable longitudinally therein, means for yieldably holding the rod and latch against forward movement out of position to secure the fulcrum, and actuating means for said rod mounted in the auxiliary chamber and including an operating element movably mounted adjacent the forward end of the auxiliary passage and movable in an operating direction by suction exerted rearwardly through the auxiliary passage when the forward end of the auxiliary passage is blocked.

` HENRY K. FLINCHBAUGH. 

